Skip to main content
European Commission logo
EURAXESS Researchers in motion
NEWS16 Jul 2024News

ERC Synergy Grants call

ERC SyG call - get ready

The ERC Synergy Grants call 2024 is closed since 6 November 2024. The info is for reference only, to get ready for the next round

The Synergy Grants are designed to tackle truly bold scientific challenges by funding groups of up to 4 excellent Principal Investigators (PIs) who jointly address the frontier of knowledge with a ground-breaking research proposal. Any field of research is eligible. 

Note that a Synergy Grant Group can include up to one Principal Investigator hosted or engaged in a third country, including in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico or in any other LAC country.

=> Watch below the testimonial by Wolfgang Gieren, Full Professor at Universidad de Concepción, in Chile and member of the ERC Synergy group UniverScale.

Who may apply? 

A group of two to maximum four Principal Investigators (PIs) – of which one will be designated as the corresponding PI (cPI) – working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems. No specific eligibility criteria regarding the academic training are foreseen for ERC Synergy Grants. PIs must present a competitive track record as appropriate to their career stage.

Proposals will be evaluated on the sole criterion of scientific excellence which, in the case the ERC Synergy Grants, takes on the additional meaning of outstanding intrinsic synergetic effect.

Host institutions

Research must be conducted by all PIs in a public or private research organisation (known as a Host Institution, HI). It could be the HI where the applicant already works, or any other HI established in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Principal Investigators may be hosted by more than one Host Institution. Up to one host institution may be a legal entity established outside of the EU or Associated Countries or an international organisation, for example in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico or any other LAC country.

What do the ERC Synergy Grants offer?

Synergy Grants can be up to a maximum of €10 million for a period of 6 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). However an addition €4 million can be requested in the proposal in total to cover:

  1. eligible 'start-up' costs for Principal Investigators moving to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere as a consequence of receiving an ERC grant and/or
  2. the purchase of major equipment  and/or
  3. access to large facilities
  4.  major experimental and field work costs.

An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution of 25% of the total eligible costs towards indirect costs.

 

 

Deadline: 6 November 2024 

 

=>Watch testimonial by Wolfgang Gieren.

 

Important information:

Recruitment of team members from all over the world:

ERC Synergy grants support projects carried out by a group of two to four individual researchers who can employ researchers of any nationality as team members. It is also possible to have one or more team members located in a third country. Vacancies for team members interested in joining an ERC led research project can be published on the EURAXESS Jobs portal.

About the ERC

The ERC's mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence. The ERC complements other funding activities in Europe such as those of the national research funding agencies, and is a flagship component of Horizon Europe, the European Union's Research Framework Programme for 2021 to 2027. Being 'investigator-driven', or 'bottom-up', in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, rather than being led by priorities set by politicians. This ensures that funds are channelled into new and promising areas of research with a greater degree of flexibility.